Competition with SpaceX forced ULA CEO out
A news story today in Defense News speculates that the competitive pressure from SpaceX is what forced ULA’s CEO to step down.
Changes at the CEO level are usually accompanied by a change in how business is done, said Byron Callan, an analyst with Capital Alpha Partners. “Generally, when you see abrupt leadership changes, there’s an abrupt change of strategic or tactical course needed,” Callan said. “You don’t make those changes unless you see something that needs fast corrective action.”
Caceres said he expects to see layoffs and a streamlining of ULA to find all possible cost savings. “My sense is you’re going to see at ULA a restructuring of some sort, because ultimately they’re going to have to find a way to be a lot more competitive on price,” he said.
This restructuring is entirely the result of the new competition from SpaceX, as repeatedly noted by the article.
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A news story today in Defense News speculates that the competitive pressure from SpaceX is what forced ULA’s CEO to step down.
Changes at the CEO level are usually accompanied by a change in how business is done, said Byron Callan, an analyst with Capital Alpha Partners. “Generally, when you see abrupt leadership changes, there’s an abrupt change of strategic or tactical course needed,” Callan said. “You don’t make those changes unless you see something that needs fast corrective action.”
Caceres said he expects to see layoffs and a streamlining of ULA to find all possible cost savings. “My sense is you’re going to see at ULA a restructuring of some sort, because ultimately they’re going to have to find a way to be a lot more competitive on price,” he said.
This restructuring is entirely the result of the new competition from SpaceX, as repeatedly noted by the article.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
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Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Actually ULA was reportedly already charging the under $200M a launch price the article said they couldn’t compete with.
Big agree that the old CEO was complacent though. With the mil and congress just wanting the same old thing decade after decade its easy to fall into that, but its not healthy.
With EELV replacement programs being discussed in the mil, and ULA ignoring Space for so long that they needed to PR catch up in Washington after this long a set of SpaceX attacks in press etc, and little real effort to prepare or rather look prepared for the RD-180 cut off. Hews not really looking in charge.
One big plus to the CEO change though. It says ULA is directed to stay in the game, and not just run out the current orders and close the doors when the EELV contracts run out. Given ULA really doesn’t generate any significant cash for the parent companies – there was serious grumbling they would just bail out of the business. This suggests they are committed to it for a while.
Which is a relief frankly.
“Caceres said he expects to see layoffs and a streamlining of ULA to find all possible cost savings. ”
Perhaps there is some bloat in the workforce but I suspect that it not the factor driving the disparity in prices between ULA and their competitors.
Yes, it’s the Old Space approach of getting the most congressional districts involved in the development process. You are in fact REWARDED for needing a large number of employees, with the associated high costs, across the country.
The next big thing ULA will have to deal with is reusability. It’s not that ULA can’t do reusability as SpaceX is doing. It’s just they did not WANT to do it because it would cut prices and, they feel, total revenues.
This is not just a ULA problem it is endemic in the industry. They feel how can we make a significant profit when we cut our prices by a factor of 10 or 100? They key point is you will increase your number of launches when prices are cut by this extent and the increase in the number of sales will cause an increase in revenues.
Bob Clark
Actually ULA was reportedly already charging the under $200M a launch price the article said they couldn’t compete with.
No. The infamous block buy involves 36 cores for $11 billion. That’s a bit over $305.5 million per core. ULA says the block buy saves the government $4.4 billion. So their old average price per core was apparently just under $428 million apiece. They’ve got a long way to go to get down to even $200 million. I’m not optimistic they can do it.
little real effort to prepare or rather look prepared for the RD-180 cut off. Hews not really looking in charge.
Agreed. The phrase “deer in the headlights” comes to mind.
Given ULA really doesn’t generate any significant cash for the parent companies
My understanding is that ULA contributes about $300 million per year to both Boeing’s and LockMart’s bottom lines.
Skight dif. The gov customers wouldnd (or were ordered no to by congress) except reusables. They would cut costs and that would anger voters.
;/
>>Actually ULA was reportedly already charging the under $200M a launch price the article said they couldn’t
>> compete with.
> No. The infamous block buy involves 36 cores for $11 billion. That’s a bit over $305.5 million per core…
Yet the reported price per launch was about $200. Presumably the Block by included other theng then the launches?
>> little real effort to prepare or rather look prepared for the RD-180 cut off. Hews not really looking in charge.
> Agreed. The phrase “deer in the headlights” comes to mind.
To be fair ULA did make sure they had years of RD-180s in stock, and the Delta-IV is kept in production specifically as a back up to the Atlas-V in case something stopped them being usable. So ULA did have all the bases covered. But Hews didn’t present that to folks – resulting in the panic in Washington when folks thought there was a possibility of launch services suddenly not being available from them. Image is reality in DC.
>> Given ULA really doesn’t generate any significant cash for the parent companies
> My understanding is that ULA contributes about $300 million per year to both Boeing’s and LockMart’s bottom lines.
Agreed. Trivial for companies of that size.